GM’s Cruise division has new CEO, Dan Ammann

GM’s Cruise division has new CEO, Dan Ammann

Dan
Ammann, president of General Motors, soon to be CEO of
Cruise.Thomson
Reuters

General
Motors President Dan Ammann will take over as CEO of
Cruise, the carmaker’s self-driving division that’s now valued
at $14.6 billion.

Current CEO Kyle Vogt will become president and CTO,
concentrating on leading “technology development” as the division
pushes toward a commercial rollout in 2019.

Ammann’s role at GM had
previously been adjusted so that he could spend more time on
Cruise.

General Motors announced on Thursday that President Dan Ammann
would assume the role of CEO at the company’s Cruise self-driving
vehicle division.

Cruise’s current CEO, Kyle Vogt, will become president and CTO.
The changes will be official on January 1, 2019.

Ammann’s involvement with Cruise had been expanded earlier this
year as GM shuffled responsibilities,
shaking up the leadership of its Cadillac brand and putting
executive vice president Mark Reuss in charge of the luxury
division as well as product planning and development for the
largest US automaker.

“I’m excited to dedicate 100% of my time and energy to helping
Kyle and the entire team realize our mission of deploying this
technology at scale,” Ammann said in a statement.

Vogt added: “Dan’s been my partner since General Motors’ initial
investment in Cruise and I am thrilled he has agreed to join us
full-time. Dan’s thorough understanding of our mission and his
operational expertise make him the perfect fit to lead Cruise
into commercial deployment.”

Cruise is now worth $14.6 billion

Kyle Vogt, left, and Amman.General Motors

GM acquired San Francisco-based Cruise in 2016, for an all-in
price of around $1 billion, accounting for future hiring and
expansion costs (the
initial price was $581 million). Subsequent investments from
the SoftBank Vision Fund and Honda have increased Cruise’s
valuation to $14.6 billion.

Cruise’s focus since 2016 has been to develop a fully autonomous
technology that can be deployed as a ride-sharing platform in a
geographically defined urban context. Beyond testing in the Bay
Area, Cruise has also been prototyping its systems in Arizona and
Michigan.

Cruise tech relies on laser-radar units and integrated software
and computer processing power, currently being installed in
all-electric Chevy Bolt vehicles at the assembly stage. GM and
Cruise believe this will provide the division with the reliable
scale needed to put on the road thousands of self-driving
vehicles that could be hailed using a smartphone app.

Pushing toward commercialization in 2019

Commercialization is now Cruise’s top priority. Media reports
have suggested that Cruise could be lagging on GM’s 2019 launch
timetable, but the carmaker maintains that the schedule hasn’t
changed.

“As we move toward commercial deployment, adding Dan to the
strong team led by Kyle is the next step,” GM CEO Mary Barra said
in a statement.

Ammann, a former investment banker who previously served as GM’s
CFO, has led the automaker’s efforts to create new businesses
that could ensure its prosperity in a world of rapidly changing
mobility choices. He has also assisted Barra in streamlining the
global giant’s operations, including the sale of the perennially
underperforming Opel/Vauxhall division in Europe to Peugeot.

Under Vogt, Cruise has grown from a 40-person startup to
employing 1,000 people in San Francisco, with as many as 300 new
hires planned for a satellite office in Seattle.